phosphene

Advancedzipf 1.14

Pronunciation

/ˈfɒsfiːn/(FOS-feen)

Part of speech

nounformal

Chinese

光幻视（按压眼球时看到的光）

Definition

A ring or spot of light produced by pressure on the eyeball or direct stimulation of the visual system.

Word family

  • phosphenic/fɒsˈfɛnɪk/(adj)光幻视的

Collocations

  • see phosphenes
  • phosphene patterns
  • pressure phosphenes
  • produce phosphenes

Examples

  1. 1.If you gently press your closed eyes, the colors and patterns you see are phosphenes. (pressure-induced light)
  2. 2.Astronauts in space report seeing phosphenes caused by cosmic rays striking their retinas. (visual phenomena)

Synonyms

  • (no direct synonyms — specific scientific term)

Etymology

from Greek "phos" (light) + "phainein" (to show) — light that shows itself without external source